Who rules the football?

Despite the ruling of local tribunal that Napoli should be allowed to take its place in the league, arguing that the economic benefits were in the best interests of creditors, the Italian Football Federation uphold its earlier verdict to exclude the southern Italian club for a failure to register its financial guarantees on time, and confirmed Serie C1 clubs Pescara and Bari’s inclusion in Serie B at the expense of financially stricken Napoli and Ancona. Despite being declared bankrupt, Napoli’s owner Luciano Gaucci is conducting legal actions to have the club added on to an expanded Serie B. A court in Naples which questioned the legality of the move ordered suspension of the Serie B calendar, due to start on September 11, and the four Copa Italia games. Adriano Galliani, president of Lega Calcio (Italian Football League), expressed his concerns at the decision “This row goes to the heart of a problem that has plagued Italian football over the last two years – who controls the game, the sporting authorities or the law courts?” he told media. The Italian Football Federation board will address the situation and make a decision on whether to reinstate Napoli to Serie C1 in a meeting scheduled for September 1. However, Serie B clubs have issued a collective statement stating they will boycott the league programme if bankrupt club Napoli is readmitted to the country’s second-tier league. The statement jointly issued by the 22 clubs is similar to the statement expressed last summer, but Gaucci’s legal battle on behalf of Catania proved successful and the league was eventually expanded to 24 clubs.

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